Vehicles such as semi-trailers or flat-bed trailers, for example, oftentimes include shock-absorbing bumper blocks coupled to the rear bumper of the vehicle. Such bumper blocks operate to protect the bumper of the vehicle as the vehicle is backed into a dock in order to load or unload cargo from within the vehicle. The bumper blocks also operate to protect the face of the building from vehicle impact as the vehicle is backed into the dock.
Bumper blocks are typically made of a molded polymer such as rubber. The rubber may also be reinforced with a laminated fabric. Bumper blocks coupled to the rear bumper of a vehicle must operate to absorb the impact of the vehicle backing into the dock. Such bumper blocks must also withstand vertical friction caused by weight being added and removed from the vehicle, such as the storage container of a trailer as the trailer is being loaded or unloaded at the dock, for example. In particular, when a forklift drives onto or off of the storage container of the trailer, the trailer's suspension allows the storage container to rise and fall accordingly. The resulting friction between the face of the dock and the face of the bumper block of the trailer may operate to wear out the bumper block. Accordingly, such shock-absorbing bumper blocks oftentimes are in need of frequent replacement due to the impacting and continuous vertical dock rubbing that may degrade a conventional rubber dock bumpers